Shrimp trucks are cited for illegal sales

Question: I was on the North Shore recently and noticed two to three shrimp trucks with huge signs looking like billboards. They are on top of the trucks and say something like "blue water shrimp" or "shrimp available." The letter size is about a couple of feet. Are they legal? They're so big they ruin the beauty of the North Shore.

Answer: It wasn't so much that the signs were legal or illegal, but that they were advertising an activity that isn't allowed in the area without a permit.

The sizes of the signs were questionable, but "it's the actual use that we cited for," Art Challacombe, manager of customer services for the city Department of Planning and Permitting, told us last week.

Under the agricultural land use designation for the area, "it's not permitted to cook and sell shrimp" from those properties unless the shrimp are produced on the property.

If that requirement is met, then the operators can sell the shrimp from a stand or building.

"You can't sell it from a vehicle," Challacombe said. "The signs were indicative of an illegal use."

The city decided to cite the operators not just for a sign violation, but "for the most flagrant violation."

If the activity, shrimp selling, is not halted, fines of $50 a day will be levied not only against the operators, but the property owners, he said.

A department inspector saw two vehicles selling shrimp last Tuesday, one at 56-931 Kamehameha Highway and the other at 56-969 Kamehameha Highway, Challacombe said.

Challacombe said that location had several signs, including a large one atop the vehicle. He said the operation was cited in October 2004 for the same violation.

A spokesman for Campbell Estate said the operator is working with the Department of Planning and Permitting on obtaining a permit.

Blue Water Shrimp was operating out of a minibus at 56-931 Kamehameha Highway, Challacombe said. Because the shrimp was not grown on the property, "no selling of shrimp is permitted there," he said.

Q: Just as you go up St. Louis Heights, there is a bougainvillea bush that is so tall that it is hanging onto the phone or power lines. One of those companies needs to trim those lines before they totally disrupt phone or electric service to people on St. Louis Heights.

A: Unfortunately, you did not specify an address.

In this case, or in the future, contact the utility companies directly.

"If your readers have any comments and concerns, they can call our customer assistance center at 548-7311," said HECO spokesman Jose Dizon.

For Hawaiian Telcom, call the 24-hour repair center at 611. The more specific information you can provide, including location, address and what the concern is, the better, said spokeswoman Ann Nishida.